Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

[Spectre]

Subcompact? What do you consider compact over there? Camrys or something?

A Corolla or 8th gen Civic is a compact car. Camry's a mid-sizer.

Like Adunaphel said, they're not praised for quality here either, but probably every single example goes easily beyond 200k miles with some service.

If this one was more bashing GM, then say it. It takes all your creditability away when you bash every single European car manufacturer by saying "Astra...there you see, european build quality!". And by the way, the OP never actually said why the car is in need of a replacement ? it might be technically totally okay!

If it is in 'desperate need of replacement' typically it's not okay.

rick's Saturn? Yeah, that's 'in desperate need of replacement.'

Also, I bash EVERY car manufacturer when they make what I consider to be crap. Even Jaguar, Nissan, Ford, Honda, etc., etc. Or were you too busy steaming about my comments regarding German makers to notice my "Jaguar, WTF" posts? Or my "Hey, you should buy certain Mercedes" posts? I've got a lot of those.

 

[Hbriz]

A Corolla or 8th gen Civic is a compact car. Camry's a mid-sizer.

They are considered the same size here. Besides, the Astra is bigger than a Corolla.

 

[Spectre]

They are considered the same size here. Besides, the Astra is bigger than a Corolla.

The way cars are legally classified here is by interior and cargo space, not by exterior size. (That's a call by the EPA; the Saab 9000 got classed as a 'limousine,' my XJ6 is a 'subcompact') Most of us class them by external size, really. That said, GM called it a subcompact.

Also, we do NOT get the three door Corolla or Civic, only the sedan and coupe versions. The Saturn Astra was hatchback only.

Over here, the Astra was about 170 inches long, 69 inches wide, and about 56-58 (depending on whether you got it as a three or five door) inches tall. The US Corolla of the same year was almost ten inches longer, about the same width, and slightly taller, putting it on the other side of the non-governmental compact/subcompact divide. If the Corolla hatch were offered here, it would be (IIRC) a subcompact as well. And nobody would buy it.

 

[Hbriz]

The way cars are legally classified here is by interior and cargo space, not by exterior size. (That's a call by the EPA; the Saab 9000 got classed as a 'limousine,' my XJ6 is a 'subcompact') Most of us class them by external size, really. That said, GM called it a subcompact.

Also, we do NOT get the three door Corolla or Civic, only the sedan and coupe versions. The Saturn Astra was hatchback only.

Over here, the Astra was about 170 inches long, 69 inches wide, and about 56-58 (depending on whether you got it as a three or five door) inches tall. The US Corolla of the same year was almost ten inches longer, about the same width, and slightly taller, putting it on the other side of the non-governmental compact/subcompact divide. If the Corolla hatch were offered here, it would be (IIRC) a subcompact as well. And nobody would buy it.

Ah, I was comparing the 5 door Corolla to a 5 door Astra. Apples with apples. Besides, a Corolla here is this:

So does that mean an XJ6 is in the same class as a Yaris? Okay, that makes sense...

 

[Spectre]

Ah, I was comparing the 5 door Corolla to a 5 door Astra. Apples with apples. Besides, a Corolla here is this:

Yeah, our Corolla is different.

So does that mean an XJ6 is in the same class as a Yaris? Okay, that makes sense...

For emissions and fuel economy purposes, yes, according to our 'brilliant' government.

 

[_HighVoltage_]

This is rather annoying - how can different versions of the same car be so different in their nature.

Case in point is the S40 after 2004. You can have the one that most dealerships carry on their lots - the base 2.4i with automatic. They are everywhere and the prevailing opinion is that this car is a dog! It's slow, handles bad and doesn't look that good.

You can also have, for only $1000 more, the S40 T5 AWD with a 6-speed manual. They say that in the corners it's even better than the S60R (less weight) and on the straights it still feels rather quick. It comes with the sport suspension (night and day difference) and the visual sport trim (spoilers, big wheels).

The bad news - most dealers don't have that. It's so frustrating! As soon as I get to Denver, I will go to the specialist place that sells Volvos and will give them a list of models that I'm interested, hopefully they'll be able (and willing) to find one, even if I have to wait a few weeks.

 

[Spectre]

The reason most dealers don't have that is because most Volvo buyers aren't even vaguely interested in performance.

 

[_HighVoltage_]

The reason most dealers don't have that is because most Volvo buyers aren't even vaguely interested in performance.

No, that's what the dealers think. And it just goes to show how badly they understand the market.

As you know, I've been watching the Volvo market in the Denver area for the past two months. Every time an R or a model with a manual gearbox shows up, it's sold in less than a week. At the same time, I see a couple of S40's and a few S60 2.4T's that have been sitting for 2 months. Why - because they are bland and boring (exactly what most people think of Volvos).

There is a demand for sporty Volvos.

(off topic, a 04 S60R with 105k miles and 6-speed manual was just sold in Denver on eBay with no reserve for $8,800. Fuck me, that's a steal!)

 

[Spectre]

Ah, but those didn't sell all that well when new, which is what I'm getting at. Isn't that why Volvo discontinued the R's initially, lack of sales?

 

[bone]

So much for European build quality there... your Astra was built in Belgium with all the other Astras, and it's already worn out at 80K and less than four years?

if you drive like a granny, they'll last ages! if you a more spirited drivingstyle, at 100 000km, they're worn out. i've already wearn out a few of them...

 

[_HighVoltage_]

Ah, but those didn't sell all that well when new, which is what I'm getting at. Isn't that why Volvo discontinued the R's initially, lack of sales?

Partially true. The original R-s in the 90's sold quite well, because they were a limited production. For the 3 years of production, only 14,000 were made and probably less than 1/3 were brought to the US.

With the S60R/V70R, they brought 5,000 of them in 2004 alone (I don't have the numbers for the other years). Of course, they couldn't sell 5,000 R's in a single year. They sold well for what the car was, but not as good as Volvo (or maybe Ford...) expected. Bad market research.

That may be a reason why it is not that difficult find an R these days. I can have one if I wanted one, but right now I'm looking into more rare/obscure combinations - like I said the S40 T5M AWD or the S70 T5M. In the end, I might just get an R and be done with it.

 

[GRtak]

Wait. People BOUGHT those?
I thought it was just people picking up a rock from the yard and taking them to school for show and tell or something. I remember quite clearly being in the "beg parents for pet" stage and got the reply of "you can have a pet rock" so I found an appropriate rock and painted it pretty colors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_rocks


There is a USB version now too.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Maybe it's time to start sabotaging it. Sand in the crankcase will speed up the inevitable. Also, if they think it's okay to keep driving it, perhaps you can get them to help you buy something else when it dies - i.e., making them put their money where their mouth is.

Haha. She was like "Can you even afford a car payment?" Imagine me putting on the largest "Are you fucking kidding me?" meme face. I told her I was thinking another used car....she was like "oh ok." I will prevail.

Toss an A/B/C fire extinguisher in the car. You might need it.

:lol:

As I posted on a different thread, I'll soon be the proud owner of a new car. My current car, a 2008 Saturn Astra with nearly 80,000 miles(!) is in desperate need of replacement, so I decided to buy the car that I've admired since it was introduced at Geneva(if I remember correctly, correct me if I'm wrong) a few years back. What is it, well I guess we can just "focus" on that. Yes, it is a Focus, a 2012 SEL in Race Red with the the Stone leather interior. It has nearly every option(leather, moonroof, 17" wheels, SYNC) except for the absolutely horrendous "MyFordTouch system. I ordered it last week and it's supposed to be arriving sometime in late August or early September. After test driving one I was instantly impressed by this car, a huge improvement from my Astra and and even bigger step up from the previous model Focus which i drove as a rental last year. This car has superb handling in town, good acceleration, a good ride if a bit stiff on Austin's pothole-ridden roads, and a very good amount of interior space. From the inside this feels much bigger than my Astra even though they are relatively the same size from the exterior. In fact, my only gripe is that the SYNC is somewhat complicated at times, but not to the point of being a deal-breaker.

This isn't my exact car (it hasn't been delivered yet) but it's pretty much identical in every single way:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=newcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=66739376&listingRecNum=6&criteria=sf1Dir%3DDESC%26mkId%3D20015%26stkTyp%3DN%26mdId%3D21138%26rd%3D100000%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId-clrId-trId%26zc%3D78660%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-1%26stkTypId%3D28880%26clrId%3D27132%26sf2Dir%3DDESC%26sf1Nm%3DactualPhotoCount%26sf2Nm%3Dprice%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26trId%3D24993%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national

Awesome! How was the standard radio in terms of ease of use? It just seems to be just enough of a pain to use by looks, that I'd deal with the Devil and get the My Ford Touch unit.

I love the interior as well...go team Beige! Curious minds want to know though, what was super wrong with the Astra?

Just get rid of the Saturn and buy a new car without telling them.

Can't. Being on your parents insurance FTW!

There is a USB version now too.

The wold needs more Think Geek items.

 

[bone]

That may be a reason why it is not that difficult find an R these days. I can have one if I wanted one, but right now I'm looking into more rare/obscure combinations - like I said the S40 T5M AWD or the S70 T5M. In the end, I might just get an R and be done with it.

no offense, but to me it sounds more like you keep inventing excuses for not actually buying one...
first it was the fact you had to move, now you want a rare combination, what's next? all the ones you can find their paint has faded?

get one already!!!

 

[_HighVoltage_]

Don't worry. My only excuse now is that I'm still in Bulgaria. On flying back on August 4th, and then I'm really getting one

 

[Hemihead]

US S10s were also assembled by drunken Cajuns in Louisiana and something like one in four of them has crap welded inside body panels so it'll rattle around while you're driving. Thing is, the S10 wasn't all that good and there are many, many better choices.

They sold lots and lots of S10s because they were really, really cheap but this is one case where cheap doesn't quite overcome suck.

Sad thing is, there are few options here in Sweden. Most Toyota and Nissan pickups have been exported to Africa, the Ford Ranger is still overpriced, there are a few Mazda B2500's around but they seem to be in general poor condition. The ones that are plentiful are the Skoda Felicia pickup, the Fiat Strada, Chevy S10 and a odd Isuzu or two. Ah well, i'll keep looking.

 

[Peter3hg]

Booked my car in to have the official Hirsch "performance upgrade" or remap by any other name. Plently more pooooooowwwwwwweeeeeerrrrrr torque to play with.
There was a deal on for cars MY07 or older but it is still chuffing expensive. I think it is worth it though as it should maintain the car's character and should be perfectly safe for the engine's longevity. Fully warranted as well.

 

[NooDle]

The Astra never was a particularly good car, no matter what market you're in. Opel/GM just knew how to talk to fleetowners. I'd say 90% of Astras (99% Astra wagons) are fleet-owned.

Ahem....

<= points at car

Over here atleast it is the standard "old fart" car, even more than a Golf III was.
Some nutjobs get one with a 2.2 diesel engine though....

This is rather annoying - how can different versions of the same car be so different in their nature.

Case in point is the S40 after 2004. You can have the one that most dealerships carry on their lots - the base 2.4i with automatic. They are everywhere and the prevailing opinion is that this car is a dog! It's slow, handles bad and doesn't look that good.

Told ya!

The reason most dealers don't have that is because most Volvo buyers aren't even vaguely interested in performance.

This.

if you drive like a granny, they'll last ages! if you a more spirited drivingstyle, at 100 000km, they're worn out. i've already wearn out a few of them...

Ahem.... 157k kms (roughly 100k miles) of not very careful and frequent topspeed driving, only thing that really failed was the intercooler at around 120K kms

I've just had new brakes fitted (discs were a bit warped) and the exhaust was a bit rusty, but I choose to blame my drivingstyle (topspeed + massive braking = fun) and not bothering to wash it in winter to get the road salt off for those things

 

[bone]

Ahem.... 157k kms (roughly 100k miles) of not very careful and frequent topspeed driving, only thing that really failed was the intercooler at around 120K kms

I've just had new brakes fitted (discs were a bit warped) and the exhaust was a bit rusty, but I choose to blame my drivingstyle (topspeed + massive braking = fun) and not bothering to wash it in winter to get the road salt off for those things

if i've driven one for 100 000km, the shock abosorbers are nothing short of shot, the gearbox feels all squishy, and i once broke a mounting point on the engine by driving off a curb to fast

and, i agree, i didn't take that much care of them, i wasn't trying to destroy them either, i just drove it like you would expect from a company car

and i was actually talking about the generation after yours, don't have much experience in your car...

 

[Der Stig]

Back in 2004 or so, Car Talk ran a survey to find out what the ultimate gay and lesbian cars were.

#1 Lesbian Car? The Lesb-, er, Subaru Outback.

Amusingly, the ultimate gay car back then was the VW Jetta followed by the Beetle and then the BMW 3 series. The Miata came in fifth.

This does explain who was buying the gasser/non-turbo Jettas.

The comments they received are amusing to read as well.

And, despite all the heavy marketing they did to gays, the Jaguar X-Type does not appear anywhere on the list. Gay and lesbian people were too smart to fall for that stupid pandering - at least smart enough to see that the product was crap.

Good thing I took this guy's advice! I'm in the "in" crowd of 7 years ago! YESSSSS!